Draft:Art in Transit Programme

Art in Transit programme (Singapore)

The Art in Transit (AIT) programme is a Singaporean visual arts programme created by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for its Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations. It features artworks that are integrated in the stations. Started in 1997, it grew to be featured in every station (with the exception of the East-West Line and nearly all of the North-South Line stations) on the MRT. It is designed to be commemorate Singapore's history and communities as well as encouraging commuters to appreciate art, enhancing their experiences travelling on the MRT.

Details

It should be noted that the Art in Transit programme's artworks is to be distinguished from the East-West Line (EWL) and North-South Line (NSL) stations' artworks (with the exception of Canberra and Marina South Pier station). The AIT programme integrates artworks into the architecture of the stations during their construction whilst the artworks (primarily freestanding sculptures and paintings) on the latter are added after the stations were constructed/opened as opposed to being in the station plans during their construction. This seems to emphasise the station's utility as a method of transportation across Singapore over its aesthetics, as well as making the artworks seem like an afterthought.

The process starts by the LTA hosting a public contest where the winners/artists are determined by curators through their portfolio and curriculum vitae. This "encourages a wide-ranging selection of both established and upcoming artists for the AIT programme." From there, the artists create their artworks, sometimes involving the local community near the artists' respective assigned stations to directly participate or contribute to the creation of the artwork. Finally, once the artists are done with their artwork, they will meet with the architectural team of their respective station and integrate the artworks into the architecture of the station. The entire process of the AIP is supervised by the LTA and the Art Review Panel (ARP), a group comprising of artists, designers, architects, and art educators from various art institutions and agencies.

History

The programme was first started in December of 1997 by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) for the North East Line (NEL). The LTA issued an invitation to the general public to create artworks for the then upcoming stations on the NEL. 83 people responded and only 19 were chosen by the ARP Chairman Ho Kah Leong, then principal of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Afterwards, there were meetings between the artists and the individual station's architectural team pertaining to the artwork concepts and approaches as well as allocating artists to which station. The programme was unveiled to the general public in 2003 on par with the commencement of the NEL.

By contrast, the LTA decided on a mix of public competitions and commissions for the Circle Line's Art in Transit Programme artworks.

Artworks

The following is a list of artworks in the art-in-transit programme:

Station	Code	Artwork	Name of Artist	Year	Media	Image
Habourfront	NE1
	CC29